At the start of the football season, most people penciled in Walpole to defend its Bay State Conference Herget Division title from a year ago. The biggest question the Rebels needed to address on the offensive side of the ball was how were they going to be up front with the loss of Andrew Fellini, Pat Harris and Steve Fortin.
Judging by Ryan Izzo’s numbers in the regular season, 2,203 yards with 30 rushing touchdowns, and quarterback Sonny Mastromatteo throwing for 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns, the offensive line has come together quite well helping the offense pile up 32.6 points per game.
When training camp opened the known parts in place were center Adam Riegel and right tackle Sean Driscoll, both of whom were chosen as captains before the season. Two of the other pieces came up through the ranks of the freshman and junior varsity squads in left guard Bryan Norberg and left tackle Kyle Morris. The last piece, right guard Dave Wyman, was discovered on the defensive side.
“We had predicted the key pieces before the season, Dave Wyman definitely stepped up and really filled a big hole at the one place we really weren’t sure,” said Riegel. “It really started before the season, we were all at camp together, we’re all good friends, we hang out. The chemistry was already there, it was just bringing it over to the football field.”
According to coach Danny Villa, convincing Wyman to switch from linebacker was “the key component” to making this year’s offensive line click.
Of course, being sandwiched between the two returning starters can certainly make one’s job a heck of a lot easier.
“Morris and Norberg, they know all the plays because they’ve been doing O-line stuff since freshman year,” said Driscoll. “Dave Wyman played fullback for his whole career and just moved into the line this year, he’s between me and Riegel, so if he’s got questions on anything he’s got both of us right there.”
For Morris, getting to this point has been a long time in the making for Villa.
“He’s been my project since he was in the seventh grade. I was working the Rebel Hoop Camp and I saw this big kid, kind of a lazy a little bit, but I knew there was some athleticism in him because I was a basketball player myself and I had seen him play basketball and he’s a decent basketball player, but I knew basketball wasn’t going to be his sport, so I kind of worked on him just talking to him, feeling him out, ” said Villa. “(He) came out his freshman year, played a little bit, didn’t play a lot and stuck with us. His sophomore year I finally convinced him, ‘You’re going to be a big part of this eventually, you’re just going to have to work hard.’
“I finally convinced his parents to send him to a weight training program outside the school so that he could see what his body was supposed to be doing. He went, it was hard, but he understood that what it takes to become a good player, and he’s been playing fabulous.”
While some have to learn how to adjust to their bodies, some are simply given the tools right away and Norberg fits that role.
“Norberg is your ideal offensive lineman, he’s got a big rear end, so what I call that is the anchor,” said Villa, who spent his time in the NFL on the offensive line. “You have a good anchor, you’re going to be okay. Once he understood the lower you get that anchor the better you are going to be. He’s finally understanding that and he’s playing really well right now.”
Much like every squad at the start of every season, the progress was slow but they have since formed a cohesive unit that has allowed Izzo run free through the line and given Mastromatteo time to pick an open target.
“The best comment/quote one of my coaches had was (offensive line coach Chris Sullivan) from against Natick, ‘Sonny should have donated his jersey to the offensive line because it was the cleanest jersey on the whole field,’” said Villa. “And we played on a grassy mud field, so that spoke volumes when the coach said that, and it’s true, Sonny’s jersey was absolutely clean.”
Their ability to both run and pass block has allowed the Rebels to head into the playoffs as the sixth best offense in terms of points per game at 32.6 (Manchester Essex leads the way at 38.3). Of course, the guy they are blocking for has helped them look good just as much as they’ve helped him this season.
“It definitely helps us look a lot better. We’re proud of the way we do our job, but a hole that should go for a 5-yard gain, he makes into a 40-yard gain,” said Riegel. “To see your blocking, you’re feeling accomplished about what you do, then you see the things he does, it just makes you want to work that much harder on the next play because you know if you get that block he’s going a long way.”
They hope they have enough of a push to get them to Saturday and push them over the top of the Division 2 heap.
